June 22, 2025: Major Indices Treading Water Despite Headwinds

Last week, markets held up narrowly in the face of ongoing geopolitical tensions, Fed meeting and triple witching Friday. Dow Jones was up fractionally, S&P 500 lost 0.15%, Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%. Global IPO activity has remained sluggish, with volumes down about 9.3% year-on-year to US$44.3 billion, driven by uncertainty from tariffs, volatility, and rising interest rates. Despite this, Asian markets, particularly China and Japan, showed strength, with CATL’s US$4.6 billion IPO marking the largest globally this year. Goldman Sachs resumed SPAC underwriting, reflecting easing regulatory pressures in the U.S., while crypto billionaire Justin Sun’s Tron announced plans to go public via a reverse merger with SRM Entertainment. Coinbase and Circle surged following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the landmark GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, boosting investor confidence in digital assets. Coinbase rose 16%, and Circle jumped 30%, significantly outperforming payment giants Visa and Mastercard, whose stocks fell amid concerns over potential disruptions from stablecoins. JPMorgan will launch a Dollar token on Coinbase’s blockchain. Meanwhile, major tech developments included Apple’s internal discussions on acquiring AI search startup Perplexity, valued at US$14 billion, and Elon Musk’s xAI burning US$1 billion monthly as it aggressively builds its AI models. Meta expanded its smart-glasses collaboration to Prada and Oakley brands, underscoring its wearable tech ambitions. Microsoft prepared for thousands more layoffs primarily in its sales division, continuing a broader restructuring strategy. In Canada, Sophic Capital client, Kraken Robotics announced a substantial $100 million bought-deal financing to accelerate global expansion, acquisitions, and bolster its balance sheet, highlighting its transition into a prime global contractor. Boardwalktech raised ~$400K through a non-brokered private placement, strengthening its financial position. Cybeats highlighted a major market inflection point as the EU formally adopted mandatory SBOM data exchange requirements, positioning Cybeats to capitalize significantly across 27 EU countries.

Sophic Client Kraken Robotics (PNG-TSXV, KRKNF-OTC) announces $100 million Bought Deal public offering of Common Shares.

Kraken Robotics entered into an agreement with Desjardins Capital Markets, as sole lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of syndicate of underwriters (the “Underwriters”) pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase 37,600,000 common shares (the “Common Shares”) from the treasury of the Company, at a price of $2.66 per Common Share (the “Offering Price”) for total gross proceeds of $100,016,000 (the “Offering”). The Company has granted the Underwriters an option (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase up to an additional 15.0% of the Common Shares of the Offering on the same terms exercisable at any time up to 30 days following the closing of the Offering, for market stabilization purposes and to cover over-allotments, if any. Kraken expects the net proceeds of the Offering will be used to support the Company’s transition into a scalable global prime contractor, including: (1) enhancing the ability to consider larger accretive acquisitions particularly in the US and EU given the Company’s strengthened global profile (2) demonstrating a stronger balance sheet when bidding for larger governmental and commercial contracts and (3) for general corporate purposes. https://t.co/6QeEoAqHza

Sophic Client Boardwalktech, Inc. (BWLK-TSXV, BWLKF-OTCQB) announces closing of second tranche of Life Non-Brokered Private Placement.

Boardwalktech has closed, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”), an initial tranche of a non-brokered private placement of 2,962,692 units (each, a “Unit”, and collectively the “Units”) of the Company at the price of $0.13 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately C$385,150 (the “LIFE Offering”) pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (the “LIFE”) of National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions (“NI 45-106”), which was previously announced on May 22, 2025. Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (each a “Common Share”) and one Common Share purchase warrant (each a “Warrant”). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.25 per Common Share for a period of 12 months from the closing date of the Offering. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, and in accordance with NI 45-106, the LIFE Offering was made to purchasers resident in Canada and other qualifying jurisdictions pursuant to the LIFE Part 5A of NI 45-106. Concurrently with the completion of the LIFE Offering, the Company also issued 115,620 Units on a non-brokered basis to United States Investors, at US$0.09 (equivalent of $0.13) with equivalent commercial terms for each warrant per Unit (the “Concurrent Offering”, and together with the LIFE Offering, the “Offering”). The securities issued under the Concurrent Offering remain subject to a hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. Collectively with the LIFE Offering and the Concurrent Offering a total of 3,078,312 Units were issued in the Offering, resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $400,180. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid aggregate finder fees of approximately $19,960 in cash commissions and 153,542 non-transferrable Warrants of the Company exercisable until June 13, 2026 to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.25 (the “Finder’s Warrants”). The Finder’s Warrants are subject to a hold period of four months plus one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. https://tinyurl.com/4u7tzu6y

Sophic Client Cybeats Technologies Corp. (CYBT-CSE,CYBCF-OTCQB) views EU adoption of cyber-crisis blueprints as market inflection point.

Cybeats Technologies commends the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity’s (ENISA) formal adoption of the EU Cyber-Crisis Management Blueprint (the “Blueprint”). The formal adoption, which includes mandatory SBOM data exchange across national borders, represents a seismic shift in global software supply chain security. For Cybeats, it opens a unified, operationally enforced market for its platform across 27 countries. This new Blueprint contains a continent-wide framework that requires Member States to exchange security incident data via machine-readable artefacts, most notably Software Bills of Materials (“SBOMs”), during all stages of a cyber-incident lifecycle. “Europe is transforming SBOM from a best practice into an enforceable legal requirement,” said Justin Leger, CEO of Cybeats. “Regulatory agencies, national governments, and industry giants are all arriving at the same answer: SBOMs are essential. Cybeats is the solution designed specifically to turn that requirement into operational value.” The announcement follows DIGITALEUROPE’s June 2025 cyber recommendations, urging for the creation of a single reporting portal, and calling for mutual recognition of NIS2 audits across Member States, and proposing a 12-month transition before CRA essentials like SBOM generation become mandatory. The Blueprint adds the critical “operations layer” to the Cyber Resilience Act by specifying how SBOM data will flow between national authorities, ENISA and industry, accelerating coordinated responses to supply-chain attacks. SBOMs are becoming unavoidable across the EU, with regulations like CRA, NIS2, and the new Blueprint mandating them as digital compliance proof in procurement by 2026-27. However, SBOMs are more than compliance checkboxes: the Blueprint repositions them as real-time data tools for security response, boosting demand for continuous analytics platforms like Cybeats. Meanwhile, Digital Europe’s proposed self-assessment and single EU portal make early compliance easier, accelerating adoption by thousands of smaller suppliers. The Company announces that Chris Malkhassian has resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company, effective May 22, 2025. The Company thanks Mr. Malkhassian for his contributions, and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours. The Company intends to issue 181,048 common shares in a debt settlement of $22,631, at a deemed price of $0.125 per share. https://t.co/lS73KHVyrZ

Global IPO activity slumps in 2025 as tariffs, volatility weigh.

Global equity IPOs have plunged this year, weighed down by heightened business uncertainty from U.S. tariffs, elevated market volatility and higher interest rates that have raised funding costs and made listings less appealing for issuers. According to LSEG data, as of June 17, global IPO volume has declined about 9.3% year-on-year to US$44.3 billion, the lowest level in nine years. U.S. IPO volumes dropped 12% to US$12.3 billion, while Europe saw a sharper 64% decline to US$5.8 billion. In contrast, Asia-Pacific IPO volumes have risen 28% to US$16.8 billion so far this year. Despite the broader slowdown, China and Japan have seen a sharp pickup in listings, driven by regulatory easing and improved sentiment. A standout was Chinese battery giant CATL, which raised US$4.6 billion in the world’s largest IPO so far this year, boosted by renewed market momentum following the U.S. tariff truce. At the same time, some analysts are cautiously optimistic about a second-half recovery. U.S. IPO interest is showing signs of a rebound, led by fintech firm Chime, which surged on its debut. High-profile names such as Klarna, Gemini and Cerebras are slated to list later this year. https://tinyurl.com/ysv9sa75

Goldman Sachs returns to SPAC underwriting.

Goldman Sachs is again open to underwriting new deals for special-purpose acquisition companies, Bloomberg reported, after pulling back from SPAC work three years ago amid regulatory scrutiny of blank-check deals. The SPAC dealmaking boom that peaked in 2021 was a gold rush for Wall Street firms, since banks often advised the blank-check companies on their own public listings and acquisitions they made after that. The frenzy attracted scrutiny from securities regulators, potentially exposing banks that worked on the deals to liability, and many companies that merged with SPACs performed poorly on public markets. But there’s been a fresh wave of new blank-check IPOs this year, and the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Donald Trump is expected to ease SPAC oversight. Goldman will evaluate potential new SPAC work on a case-by-case basis, according to the Bloomberg report. https://tinyurl.com/bnmyewva

Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun’s Tron to go public in U.S.

Crypto billionaire Justin Sun’s Tron is set to go public in the U.S. through a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment, The Financial Times reported. SRM Entertainment, a small Nasdaq-listed toy maker, said it entered an agreement to receive US$100 million equity investment from an affiliate of Sun that will be used to acquire Tron’s TRX tokens. The company will also be renamed to Tron Inc., and Sun will join as an advisor. Shares of the company jumped 457% on the news, giving it a US$140 million market cap. After Donald Trump’s election, Sun has closely aligned himself with the Trump family. He became a major investor and advisor of Trump’s crypto project World Liberty Financial. In February, the SEC halted its 2023 lawsuit against Sun and his companies, in which the SEC alleged they sold unregistered securities including TRX and manipulated the market. Sun also bought Trump memecoins and attended a dinner with Trump in May as a top holder. SRM’s transaction with Tron was advised by Dominari Securities, an investment bank that added Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump to its advisory board in February. Tron is the most popular blockchain for crypto transactions using stablecoin Tether. Last year, TRON, Tether and TRM Labs announced they are partnering up to combat illicit activity associated with the use of tether on the Tron blockchain. https://tinyurl.com/4jsxfkw8

Investors court Anysphere with US$18 to US$20 billion valuation.

Investors have approached Anysphere, the company behind the popular AI coding assistant Cursor, offering to invest in the company at a valuation of US$18 billion to US$20 billion in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported. The company might not agree to the offers, according to the report. But if the company does accept the funding, it would double its valuation from US$9 billion earlier this month, when it raised US$900 million led by Thrive Capital, Bloomberg reported, adding that the company had surpassed US$500 million in annualized revenue. Cursor has already helped define coding as a key application for large language models. The doubled valuation immediately following its last funding round would further establish Anysphere as a breakout winner of the generative AI boom. https://tinyurl.com/4c5n2sxs

A European rival to Starlink to raise US$1.5 billion from investors.

Eutelsat Communications said it plans to raise € 1.35 Billion (US$1.5 billion) in an investment round led by the French government as the company seeks to expand its satellite internet service and rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink. In a statement, Eutelsat said that the fundraising round would increase the French government’s stake in the company to just under 30%, more than doubling the country’s interest in Eutelsat, Bloomberg reported. Eutelsat acquired its response to Starlink—OneWeb, which provides wireless internet service via low earth orbiting satellites—out of bankruptcy in 2023. France’s investment comes as European countries are increasingly seeking to lessen their reliance on U.S. technology partners. Political tensions between Europe and the U.S. have intensified under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. And Elon Musk, whose rocket company SpaceX operates Starlink, has become a particularly polarizing business leader in Europe, where Musk has increasingly sought to influence political affairs. https://tinyurl.com/8z6en693

Spotify’s Daniel Ek leads US$694 million investment in defense startup Helsing.

European defense technology startup Helsing on Tuesday said that it’s raised 600 million euros (US$693.6 million) in a bumper new round of funding. The investment was led by Prima Materia, the venture capital firm founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and by Shakil Khan, an early investor in the popular music streaming app. Ek is also chairman of Helsing. Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and Saab also put money in, alongside new investors BDT & MSD Partners. In 2024, venture funding in Europe’s defense, security and resilience sector reached an all-time high of US$5.2 billion, according to a recent report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector grew 30% in the past two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which saw a 45% decline over the same period. https://tinyurl.com/y25nre7k

Apple held internal talks about acquiring AI search startup Perplexity.

As Apple scrambles to play catch-up in the generative AI race, a new report says the company has considered making its biggest acquisition ever. According to Bloomberg, Apple executives have held internal discussions about a potential bid for Perplexity AI, the fast-growing AI startup known for its conversational web search platform. This would mark Apple’s biggest acquisition ever As reported by Mark Gurman, the talks are still at an early stage and may not result in an actual offer, but the idea has reportedly been floated between Apple’s mergers and acquisitions lead Adrian Perica, services chief Eddy Cue, and top AI leadership inside the company. Perplexity recently closed a funding round that valued it at US$14 billion, which would make its acquisition an unprecedented move for Apple, well above the US$3 billion Beats deal in 2014. It is worth mentioning that Bloomberg reported earlier that Meta has also held acquisition discussions with Perplexity, although it seems to have given up on the idea and moved on to its recent US$14 billion investment in Scale AI instead. https://tinyurl.com/3dpr7w6h

OpenAI wants Microsoft to accept 33% stake in business.

OpenAI has told shareholders it wants Microsoft to accept a roughly 33% equity stake in a restructured version of its for-profit business, one of several concessions it wants from its biggest outside shareholder. The startup is locked in negotiations with Microsoft over the terms of that restructuring and changes to its existing contract with the software giant, which can veto OpenAI’s plans. In exchange for the 33% stake, OpenAI wants Microsoft to relinquish its right to 49% of OpenAI’s future profits up to a certain cap, as well as 20% of OpenAI’s revenue and the right to use its intellectual property through 2030. The restructuring of the for-profit unit with traditional equity would allow OpenAI to go public. At the same time, Microsoft is angling for its own concessions from OpenAI, including continued access to the startup’s IP after the current commercial deal between the companies ends in 2030. https://tinyurl.com/msjw5eby

Musk’s xAI is burning US$1 billion a month.

Elon Musk’s xAI is burning US$1 billion a month as it spends heavily on building its AI models, Bloomberg reported, citing people briefed on the company’s financials. The company is trying to raise US$9.3 billion in debt and equity, according to the report, and plans to spend more than half of that sum in the next three months. Meanwhile, the company has told investors to expect just US$500 million in revenue this year, Bloomberg reported. xAI has raced to build costly supercomputing centers in Tennessee to catch up to competitors like OpenAI. But some investors believe xAI has an advantage over rivals thanks to its merger with Musk’s X social media platform, which gives its access to news users posts and other information to train AI on. https://tinyurl.com/3pss4mzu

Coinbase stock surges 16% on a fresh wave of momentum from landmark crypto bill.

Shares of Coinbase spiked on Wednesday, with the largest US crypto exchange riding a wave of bullishness created by the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act this week. The stock rose as much as 17% to US$297.44, before paring gains slightly. The rally vaulted the shares to a year-to-date gain of 20%. Meanwhile, shares of recently public stablecoin issuer Circle gained 34%. The Senate bill passed on Tuesday aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, ultimately paving the way for their more widespread use and issuance by more companies. Stablecoins are a type of crypto intended to hold their value steady against fiat money like the dollar. They’re backed 1:1 by liquid reserves, such as dollars or cash equivalents like Treasurys. Stablecoins are Coinbase’s second-largest revenue driver, directly behind crypto trading, its first-quarter earnings showed. But the company’s exposure to the stablecoin market is even higher, as Coinbase is a cofounder of USDC, a popular stablecoin, and receives 50% of the “residual payment base” that its issuer Circle generates from reserves. Circle recently made its trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange, making a splash as one of the year’s first major tech IPOs. The newly minted stock rose by as much as 238% on its first day of trading. While the momentum from the Circle IPO has ebbed, it is still up almost 120% in the past month, surging 20% following the news that the Senate passed the GENIUS Act. Stablecoins have even received support from the president, whose family has backed World Liberty Financial. The digital asset firm launched its USD1 stablecoin earlier this year. Circle’s big IPO success is an indicator that Wall Street has begun taking stablecoins, and the broader crypto space, more seriously. Even some crypto detractors may be getting more comfortable with the assets. Jamie Dimon has been a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies, but this week, JPMorgan announced it would launch JPMD, a stablecoin-like token for institutional clients. https://tinyurl.com/bdff5xbk

Circle Stock jumps 30% after Senate passes Stablecoin bill.

Stablecoin issuer Circle surged 30% after the Senate passed legislation late Tuesday known as the Genius Act that will establish federal rules on the dollar-pegged tokens. The bill will still need approval by the House of Representatives and signature by President Donald Trump, who wants to pass it by August. Shares of Circle, which went public two weeks ago at an IPO price of US$31, have soared to US$193, giving it a market value of US$47 billion. Coinbase, which owns 3.5% stake of Circle and receives about half of Circle’s revenue under a partnership, also jumped 15% Wednesday, reaching a market value of US$75 billion. Shares of Mastercard and Visa fell 4.8% and 4.4% respectively today amid concerns that stablecoins, if widely adopted, could allow merchants circumvent traditional payment systems and reduce fees. https://tinyurl.com/f9m4cpth

Microsoft plans to lay off thousands of employees, primarily in sales.

Microsoft is planning to cut thousands of jobs in the coming months, primarily in its sales organization, as the company aims to consolidate sales roles to reduce the number of salespeople customers interact with, according to two people familiar with the plans. The company is still determining the exact number of roles that will be cut and is aiming to finalize it by next month, when its next fiscal year begins, one of the people said. The eliminations follow an earlier round of layoffs at Microsoft in May that cut more than 6,000 roles, primarily in areas like engineering. The planned layoffs come months after Microsoft announced an internal reorganization of its sales teams that would consolidate various roles. Sales chief Judson Althoff told employees in April that the company would reduce the number of different salespeople customers interact with. For instance, customers of Azure previously interacted with different Microsoft salespeople responsible for selling product groups like “Core,” “Data and AI,” and “Innovation,” but all of those roles will now be consolidated into a single Azure salesperson, according to a current employee with direct knowledge of the changes, which will go into effect next month. A Microsoft spokesperson did not provide a comment. https://tinyurl.com/mtz4w8r4

Meta to release smart glasses with Oakley and Prada, extending Luxottica partnership.

Meta and EssilorLuxottica plan to release versions of their AI-powered smart glasses under the Oakley and Prada brands, CNBC has learned. The addition of Prada and Oakley underscore the breakout success Meta had with its second-generation Ray-Ban glasses released in partnership with Luxottica in 2023. The Oakley expansion will be done in partnership with Luxottica, while the addition of Prada signifies Meta’s first step toward bring its wearable hardware to more fashion companies. https://tinyurl.com/2ps8prtz

OpenAI inks US$200 million deal with Pentagon for cybersecurity.

The Department of Defense has awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to develop AI that addresses “national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” the agency said in a press release. This is OpenAI’s first defense technology contract and the latest sign of deepening ties between tech companies and the U.S. government. The Department of Defense didn’t elaborate on how OpenAI will help it with “warfighting,” but the startup’s policies prohibit its technology from being used to build weapons. OpenAI explained in a blog post that it will be helping the Pentagon bolster its cybersecurity and administrative systems for service members. OpenAI in January 2024 removed a previous ban on using its AI for any military or warfare-related applications, and last December said it would team up with defense technology startup Anduril to jointly develop AI for U.S. anti-drone systems. Last week, OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil and Bob McGrew, a former OpenAI chief research officer, announced they would join other technology industry executives to help the U.S. Army’s upgrade its technology systems. https://tinyurl.com/5e2v8n2e

Danish military using robotic sailboats for surveillance in Baltic and North seas.

From a distance they look almost like ordinary sailboats, their sails emblazoned with the red-and-white flag of Denmark. But these 10-meter (30-foot) -long vessels carry no crew and are designed for surveillance. Four uncrewed robotic sailboats, known as “Voyagers,” have been put into service by Denmark’s armed forces for a three-month operational trial. Built by Alameda, California-based company Saildrone, the vessels will patrol Danish and NATO waters in the Baltic and North Seas, where maritime tensions and suspected sabotage have escalated sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Two of the Voyagers launched Monday from Koge Marina, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Powered by wind and solar energy, these sea drones can operate autonomously for months at sea. Saildrone says the vessels carry advanced sensor suites — radar, infrared and optical cameras, sonar and acoustic monitoring. Their launch comes after two others already joined a NATO patrol on June 6. Saildrone founder and CEO Richard Jenkins compared the vessels to a “truck” that carries sensors and uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to give a “full picture of what’s above and below the surface” to about 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 kilometers) in the open ocean. https://tinyurl.com/38urfyz5

Honda unexpectedly enters the space race with first successful rocket launch.

In a bizarre twist, Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer, has taken its engineering off-road—and into space. The company launched and landed a prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, June 17, marking a key milestone toward its newfound goal of achieving suborbital spaceflight by 2029. In the surprise announcement, Honda R&D—the company’s research arm—said it successfully completed the first launch and landing test of its 20.6-foot (6.3-meter) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 889 feet (271 meters) at its test facility in Taiki, a town in northern Japan known for space research. The test aimed to demonstrate technologies essential for rocket reusability, such as flight stability during ascent and descent, as well as landing capability, according to the company statement. Honda first announced tentative plans to build a small reusable rocket in September 2021 as part of an initiative to break into space technologies. In late 2024, the company established the Space Development Division at American Honda to promote technology development in the U.S. and enhance collaboration with the U.S. space industry. Since then, Honda has been actively involved in the development of spaceflight-related tools. In April, the manufacturer announced plans to test an electrolysis system on the International Space Station (ISS) and build a regenerative fuel cell system to support life in space and on Earth. In May, Honda partnered with private spaceflight company Astroscale Japan Inc. to develop a system for in-orbit satellite refueling. Still, the company has kept its spaceflight progress relatively quiet over the last several years, and did not publicly disclose launch test details for its reusable rocket, which is why today’s announcement came as such a surprise. Honda is not the only car manufacturer clamoring to enter the commercial space race. Earlier this year, Toyota announced that its research arm invested in the Taiki-based spaceflight company Interstellar Technologies to support mass production of launch vehicles, Reuters reports. Japan’s government has set an ambitious goal of doubling its space industry’s size to 8 trillion yen (US$55.20 billion) by the early 2030s, according to Reuters. To get there, it has established a multibillion-dollar space venture to subsidize private rockets, satellites, and other missions. https://tinyurl.com/s863nxrc

Reddit is the 2nd most-cited source in Google AI Overviews, but that might not mean much for its bottom line.

Analytics firm Semrush shared data this month on how AI-powered search is affecting traffic. It found that Reddit is the second most-cited website in Google AI Overviews, following Quora. “Quora and Reddit users often ask and answer niche questions that aren’t addressed elsewhere. Making them rich information sources for highly specific AI prompts,” the study’s authors wrote. “Reddit may also perform well because Google has a partnership with Reddit and uses Reddit data to train its systems.” Reddit and Google entered a partnership, worth a reported US$60 million, in 2024 that allowed Google to train its AI models on Reddit’s content. Google said the deal would “facilitate more content-forward displays of Reddit information.” All of this has helped Reddit increase its traffic over the last year, which might entice more advertisers. That traffic, however, is largely coming from so-called logged-out users, meaning they aren’t account holders at Reddit and are unlikely regular visitors. Analysts at Redburn called much of Reddit’s growth “misconstrued.” “Accelerated user growth has been driven predominantly by logged-out users who arrive on the platform largely via Google Search,” the Redburn analysts wrote in March. “These users are much less valuable to Reddit as they are typically just looking for an answer to a query and thus spend little time on the platform.” And while Google AI Overview might often cite Reddit as a source, the way it displays search results in a natural language summary means many searchers will be less likely to click through to Reddit itself. Reddit’s stocks fell in May after Google launched its new AI Mode, as concerned analysts said the new feature would likely decrease traffic to Reddit. https://tinyurl.com/hay7hmfk

WhatsApp to show ads for the first time.

WhatsApp will start showing ads and offering paid subscriptions in the coming months, Meta Platforms, its parent company, said in a blog post on Monday. These moves will open a new revenue stream for Meta. The ads will appear in a section of the app called updates, which is separate from a user’s private messages. About 1.5 billion people use that section daily, Meta said on Monday. Advertisers will also be able to offer monthly subscriptions to their channel on WhatsApp, where users such as brands, influencers and politicians can share content with an unlimited number of people. They can also pay to promote their channel, so it is more prominently placed in the updates section. Meta will collect some data on its users to target ads on WhatsApp, including their location and language, but it will not use people’s private messages, the company said on Monday. https://tinyurl.com/yc3s3ddy

A staggering 16 billion logins exposed in epic data breach, including Apple accounts.

Security researchers have discovered what they describe as “one of the largest data breaches in history,” comprising a staggering 16 billion logins, which include Apple accounts (formerly known as Apple IDs). The researchers said that the stolen data gives cybercriminals “unprecedented access to personal credentials that can be used for account takeover, identity theft, and highly targeted phishing” You may recall a report last month that Apple login credentials were among a massive database of 184 million records found sitting unprotected on a web server. It now appears this was just the tip of the iceberg, as further digging revealed that this was just one of a number of databases. Cybernews reports that researchers found a further 29 datasets. So far, they’ve discovered 30 exposed datasets containing from tens of millions to over 3.5 billion records each. In total, the researchers uncovered an unimaginable 16 billion records. The sheer scale of the find makes it extremely difficult to quickly assess how much overlap there is between them, but it seems a safe bet that even taking this into account it will remain of of the biggest stolen login discoveries of all time. The researchers said that this isn’t just the re-discovery of old data. “What’s especially concerning is the structure and recency of these datasets – these aren’t just old breaches being recycled. This is fresh, weaponizable intelligence at scale,” researchers said. The simple and neatly-organized structure of the data – URL, username, password – points to infostealers as the source. This is a class of malware specifically designed to obtain login credentials which aims to collect exactly this information in exactly this format. https://tinyurl.com/552rvb79

Senate passes Stablecoin bill in big win for crypto industry.

The Senate passed legislation to regulate a widely used type of cryptocurrency, a key victory for the digital-asset industry after it poured money into last year’s election. The bill, the first of its kind to put federal guardrails on digital currencies, sets up oversight of stablecoins, a popular crypto asset typically pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. That peg keeps their price steady, making them attractive to traders looking for a store of value while they buy and sell more volatile cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins can also be used for cross-border payments. Known as the Genius Act, the bill passed the Senate 68-30. It now moves to the House, where passage is viewed in Washington as likely but could take time. President Trump has said he wants to sign stablecoin legislation before Congress’s August recess. The roughly US$240 billion stablecoin market is expected to surge in the coming years, with financial-industry titans such as Visa and Mastercard getting into the sector, attracted in part by the prospect of regulatory certainty created by the bill. Amazon.com and Walmart are among the big companies also exploring stablecoins. Many Democrats got on board with the GOP-led effort after strengthening consumer protections and national-security provisions. Supporters of the bill argued that doing nothing would push the industry offshore and lead to more nefarious activity. The Senate passage is a big win for Circle, the largest U.S.-based stablecoin issuer, which recently went public. Circle has argued for regulations to legitimize the industry and in part to hurt Tether, its main rival and the biggest player globally. Tether is based overseas and hasn’t shown it can meet the standards outlined in the bill. https://tinyurl.com/5cmawmy2

JPMorgan to launch Dollar token on Coinbase’s blockchain.

JPMorgan will launch a U.S. dollar token on Base, a blockchain developed by Coinbase, offering an alternative to stablecoins like Tether and Circle’s USDC. The token, called JPMD, represents dollar deposits at the bank. It will allow approved institutional clients to transfer funds between each other almost instantly. Deposit tokens differ from stablecoins because they reflect deposits held at a bank. Stablecoins, by contrast, are typically backed 1:1 by cash and short-term Treasurys. The launch on Coinbase’s blockchain allows JPMorgan to offer its deposit token beyond its internal systems to eventually target a broader user base. It signals upcoming competition from banks against popular stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle. Some banks, including French bank Société Général, plan to issue their own stablecoins targeting crypto users. The U.S. Congress is deliberating laws to regulate the issuance of stablecoins. Separately, JPMorgan executives met with the SEC today and discussed potential impact of capital markets activity migrating to public blockchain, according to a meeting log. https://tinyurl.com/ye2ydtbn

X plans to offer trading, CEO Yaccarino says.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino told the Financial Times that users of the app would soon be able to make investments or trades on X. The move would expand owner Elon Musk’s vision of making X an “everything app,” and put it into direct competition with trading apps like Robinhood. X is already planning to launch a peer-to-peer payment feature called X Money with its first partner Visa. “You’ll be able to come to X and be able to transact your whole financial life on the platform,” Yaccarino told the newspaper while at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. She also said X was considering introducing an X credit or debit card. Musk recently merged X with his artificial intelligence startup xAI. The combined company is planning to allow employees to sell US$300 million in shares at a price that would value it at US$113 billion. https://tinyurl.com/ycxvuekt

Sophic Client Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV, PLCKF-OTCQB) Code and Country Podcast – Episode 14

Robert Young Pelton. In this episode of Code and Country, host Ian Paterson is joined by Robert Young Pelton, renowned war correspondent and author of Licensed to Kill and The World’s Most Dangerous Places. Pelton shares firsthand accounts from his time embedded with the Taliban, Special Forces in Afghanistan, and rebel groups in Chechnya. He discusses the evolution of cyber warfare, the dark intersections of state and non-state actors in financial fraud, and how cyber tactics mirror battlefield strategy. Pelton also explores the chilling implications of compromised digital hygiene, from sat phone targeting to political hacks. A must-listen for CISOs, IT leaders, and architects concerned about the global cyber threat landscape. https://tinyurl.com/59xr8mfn